Organisation name: Ymddireidolaeth Addoldai Cymru
Submitted: 29/11/2011 by christine.moore@addoldaicymru.org
- Organisation core business: • Ymddiriedolaeth Addoldai Cymru (The Trust) is a charity which was brought into being by Cadw and the Wales Council for Voluntary Action in response to the alarming scale of redundancy amongst Wales’ rich heritage of Nonconformist chapels. The trust takes into care examples of redundant chapels, Wales’ most distinctive building type, and works with local communities in the restoration and sustainable development of each building acquired. The Trust also seeks to raise awareness and appreciation of Wales' Nonconformist heritage. We currently have six chapels in our care.
- What will the project do?: “The Welsh chapel is one of the most distinctive and iconic building types in Wales, contributing heavily to both our urban and rural landscapes…….The chapels, along with their Sunday schools and chapels houses formed the heart of community life in industrial and rural areas alike and were used throughout the week.” The RCAHMW Chapels Recording Project The RCAHMW Chapels Recording Project has logged over 6000 chapels in Wales from across 400 years of history. Today however, with dwindling congregation numbers and the increasing costs of maintaining these buildings, a great many Welsh chapel buildings are at risk of being lost for ever • The project: “The most popular cultural tourism activity is to visit a heritage site (castle, monument, church etc.) followed by a visit to artistic or heritage exhibits (museums, art galleries, heritage centres).” Cultural Tourism Strategy Wales We wish to use tourism and cultural opportunities as the main driver to restore and sustainably develop six of our most significant chapels across Wales. Aims • To increase access opportunities to local and national history resources that will enrich and inspire, for the enjoyment and economic benefit of local people and visitors. • To increase awareness and understanding of the history of Nonconformity and its role and influence on chapel building, and the religious, social, industrial and cultural development of Wales. Objectives: • To develop social enterprise opportunity at each heritage hub • To increase the cultural and tourism offer of each of the six chapel through use of and installation of digital technology, • To develop heritage interpretation tourism hubs at six sites across Wales • To restore, repair and conserve listed buildings of national significance • To development a new multifunctional cultural and learning resource at each building to return them to and secure their sense of place at the heart of social and cultural life of each community • To develop nonconformity trails between our own buildings and integrate with other trails • To develop links with other heritage sites and organisations
- Regional area(s) to be covered by the project: All Convergence
- Who will be the end beneficiaries?: Communities, visitors, local businesses, volunteers
- Who will be involved in delivering the project?: The Trust, volunteers, The RCAHMW, Local Authorities cadw
- What might be the outputs (activity measures) of the project?: • No. Historic buildings restored • No. historic buildings actively used • No. interpretation heritage hubs created • No. web based opportunities created • No. Social enterprises created • No jobs created • No volunteers actively involved • No. trails created
- What might be the results of the project?: • Historic buildings currently ‘At Risk’ being successfully restored • The creation of a recreational resource of national significance • Increase in volunteer opportunities • Increase in volunteers actively involved in the management of a key building within their community • Increase in a distinctive Welsh cultural tourism offer of each area • Increase in attracting number of visitors • Increase in cultural opportunities for local communities and visitors • Increase economic benefit to local businesses • Increase in signposting and web based access to resources and facilities • Increase the opportunity to access facilities through alternative transport methods
- What would the project's impact be?: This project will have economic, environmental and social impacts; • The restoration and redevelopment of these building will provide a sense of place to each community, increase pride in historic buildings that are of national significance and provide distinct and authentic Welsh cultural opportunities for visitors. • Through use of state of the art digital technology it will have a major impact on increasing access to historical resources and the story of Nonconformity and the history of each the chapels. • This project will bring economic benefits through employment opportunities and attracting visitors to each area. By being run by local people this will increase the value of this economic activity through the multiplier effect. • It will increase social capital of the area and increase the capacity of communities to manage a significant historic building. • By encouraging access between chapels by alternative transport opportunities, it will have a positive impact on the environment. • Through the development of web based information will enable ‘virtual access’ this will also have a positive environmental impact. • By restoring building currently ‘At Risk’ will have a positive environmental impact; “Taking locally important historic buildings from the brink of demolition and focusing on their re-use and refurbishment would save 490 tonnes of carbon per year. The carbon emissions resulting from demolition and rebuild compared with refurbishment and re-use are a staggering seventy times greater.” NEF
- What is the project estimated cost?: £7,000,000